My Trip To... (ShikaIno)

Later, Mickey!

It's a short ride to Universal Studios Orlando and it's only made shorter by the buzz of questions floating around Ino's head. She wants to interrogate Sakura while holding hands with Sasuke and bothering Shikamaru with what he was hiding. Unfortunately for her, Ino was stuck sitting in her seat in the cab, unable to do anything of this because she was surrounded. There was absolutely no privacy for girl talk. She was nowhere near Sasuke so he was completely out of reach and Shikamaru was napping. 

So instead, Ino was stuck fielding Naruto's numerous questions about Universal Studios and all the fun he could have there. 

"Yes, there's food there Naruto..." 

"No, you shouldn't lose your shorts on the ride..."

"Yes, you can buy a wand in Diagon Alley..."

"No, there won't be real dinosaurs there..."

"But what about-"

"Naruto, if you ask me one more stupid question about this place, I will rip your ticket up right now! Especially since you didn't read anything up about this place, even though I sent you tons of information on this place!"

The rest of the ride was actually quite pleasant after this point... After the laughing subsided. The only problem was the laughing had woken up Shikamaru so Ino was forced to avoid his direction after meeting his eye the first time. She quickly looked away, remembering how they had woken up that morning entwined and closer than ever before. 

How had they ended up like that!?

- - - 

Ino knew she was fighting a losing battle after the group picked up a map of the first park, Islands of Adventure. "Come on... Let's do the easy rides first," she argued, pointing towards Seuss Landing. The area was filled with everything from Cat in the Hat to Thing 1 and Thing 2. It was also the 10 and under area, where the only way anyone could end up sick and losing their meal was by eating too much. The worst the rides did was spin, usually in circles...

"But you already sold me on superheroes before we got here!" Naruto complained while pointing to Marvel Super Hero Island. "And the Incredible Hulk coaster is right there!"

"Why did we come so early and skip breakfast if it wasn't to beat the lines?" Choji grumbled while staring at his map and looking for the first food joint to hit. 

"He's got a point..." Sakura said.

"Fine..." Ino's shoulders dropped as she stared up at the tall, green mayhem that was the Incredible Hulk coaster. She had always avoided the monster of a ride since the park had first opened but she had seen enough youtube videos to know what consisted of this ride to know that she was not looking forward to this experience. "Maybe I'll sit this ou-"

"Finally a ride for me," Sasuke remarked, leading the group towards the ride and effectively, shutting Ino up. 

Sasuke, why?

- - - 

Ino was positive she was going to be sick. She was never more sure of anything in her life. Yet the group kept continuing on like nothing. It was becoming quickly obvious to Ino that she was the only one actually scared of these massive, turbo speeding rides. Yet she had just ridden the Incredible Hulk coaster THREE times in a row and the Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, which wasn't as bad but after three turns on the Hulk her stomach was hating her. 

She had been ready to stop after the first time on the Hulk and had started to bow out when Sasuke had given her such a look that she knew he was judging her for being a baby. She had never realized how big Sasuke was into roller coasters and she didn't want to be the person who complained, especially if it would make her look bad in his eyes. 

This was how she ended up in her miserable state of being stuck between dizzy and wanting to throw up. 

But she hadn't yet and she was determined to not do so. She even prided herself on the pictures she took on these rides. She didn't actually look like she was going to be sick. She was managing quite well to pretend. She would be able to enjoy it more if she also wasn't eyeing every garbage can like her new best friend. 

"Let's do Doctor Doom's Fearfall next!" Naruto excitedly declared, staring up at the tall ride that shot up with into sky at frightening speeds. 

Ino's stomach jumped and she had to take a huge gulp of air to stop herself from doing something very unladylike. 

Sasuke smirked at Naruto and nodded. It killed Ino to see Sasuke so happy about something she absolutely hated. This ride was even taller than the Hulk and the one time her dad had convinced her onto this ride, the safety bar hadn't been able to close far enough on her small frame and she had risen so high in her seat, Ino had been confident she had gone airborne. It was the only time in her life that Ino had seen her life actually flash before her eyes...

"Everybody else coming?" Naruto grinned, oblivious to her struggles. 

"Sure," Sakura smiled, who then looked to Ino. 

"I - I... " God, she really didn't want to do this one but she felt her face manage a crack of a smile. "I g-guess...?" She didn't want to disappoint Sasuke but she also felt like she would faint if she ever went on this ride again. Even now, she had to fight to stop her hands from shaking. 

"Here. Drink this," Shikamaru unexpectedly thrust a bottle of pop into her hands and took a step in front of her while facing the rest of the group. "We're hungry so we're going to skip on this one."

"What?" Naruto's face had fallen. 

"I'm hungry too!" Choji complained. "I'm out. Food comes first."

Ino watched on with her mouth slightly parted. She had never been more grateful for Choji's endless stomach in her life or Shikamaru's ability to detach from the norm. Already she could feel the twisted weight in her stomach begin to dissipate. She knew it probably wasn't on purpose that Shikamaru saved her but she couldn't help but be thankful that she had to resist the urge to press her forehead to his arm in pure relief. 

She settled on peacefully walking in between both the boys as they walked to the restaurant of Choji's choosing. While her stomach was still betraying her, she enjoyed this diversion.

"I told you to drink that," Shikamaru nodded to the drink still in her hand.

It was then Ino looked down to see ginger ale in her hand. "What?" she asked in confusion, wondering how he had known that her stomach was bothering her. She stared up at him as Choji search his map for an appropriate restaurant. "How did you-" 

"Just drink it, Ino."

Ino had to bite back a smile as she finally twisted the unopened cap to her ginger ale. Did he know this whole time? Is that why he stepped in?

- - - - - - - - - 

Author's Note: Hehe Shikamaru is just so sneaky. I love that about him. He finds ways to show he cares without saying it. It probably would get annoying in a more serious relationships but right now its just so damn sweet!

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I'm just loving writing about Universal Studios. It's a big favorite of mine when I go to Florida.

Please don't forget to comment and/or vote. Love you guys!